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VATICAN

Thief demands ransom for Michelangelo papers

A thief who stole two historic and hugely valuable documents written by Michelangelo offered to return them to the Vatican's archives for cash, a spokesman for the Holy See revealed on Monday.

Published: 9 March 2015 12:31 CET
Thief demands ransom for Michelangelo papers
Michelangelo portrait engraved by R.Woodman. Michelangelo photo: Shutterstock

Confirming the 1997 theft of the papers for the first time, the spokesman said the offer had been made recently to a top Church official, Cardinal Angelo Comastri.

"Naturally, as we are talking about stolen documents, the cardinal refused," the spokesman said.

The Vatican did not divulge any further details about the approach or explain why the theft had not been made public when the documents disappeared in 1997.

The missing items were a letter signed by Michelangelo and a document he is thought to have written.

They formed part of a large archive linked to the construction of St Peter's basilica, which was completed in 1626 after nearly a century of stop-start works.

Michelangelo, who was an architect and engineer as well as a sculptor and painter, was brought in to oversee construction in 1547.

Although he died in 1564, he is considered one of the principal architects of a building that has become synonomous with the Roman Catholic Church.

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WOMEN

Pope appoints French woman to senior synod post

Pope Francis has broken with Catholic tradition to appoint a woman as an undersecretary of the synod of bishops, the first to hold the post with voting rights in a body that studies major questions of doctrine.

Published: 7 February 2021 11:03 CET
Pope appoints French woman to senior synod post
Pope Francis has appointed Nathalie Becquart as undersecretary of the synod of bishops. She is the first woman to hold the post. Photo: AFP

Frenchwoman Nathalie Becquart is one of the two new undersecretaries named on Saturday to the synod, where she has been a consultant since 2019.

The appointment signals the pontiff's desire “for a greater participation of women in the process of discernment and decision-making in the church”, said Cardinal Mario Grech, the secretary-general of the synod.

“During the previous synods, the number of women participating as experts and listeners has increased,” he said.

“With the nomination of Sister Nathalie Becquart and her possibility of participating in voting, a door has opened.”

The synod is led by bishops and cardinals who have voting rights and also comprises experts who cannot vote, with the next gathering scheduled for autumn 2022.

A special synod on the Amazon in 2019 saw 35 female “auditors” invited to the assembly, but none could vote.

The Argentinian-born pope has signalled his wish to reform the synod and have women and laypeople play a greater role in the church.

He named Spaniard Luis Marin de San Martin as the other under undersecretary in the synod of bishops.

Becquart, 52, a member of the France-based Xaviere Sisters, has a master's degree in management from the prestigious HEC business school in Paris and studied in Boston before joining the order.

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